Conquest 10/23/2005 Just back and very disappointed

D

dpetty121263

Guest
We arrived at 1:30pm sharp and time we got to the 2nd floor the line snaked back and forth across the room a number of times, they even shut down the escalator and stairs to block off anymore from coming up. As far as being told about not stopping at Conzmel they passed one sheet of paper thru the line notifying everyone and giving everyone a whopping $25 credit on your ship account. We finally walked on board the ship about 4:30-5ish.
 
B

Boymom

Guest
sounds like he is one of those people that can never be satisfied........ and that most of his complaints weren't even CCL's fault....... ie ...the customs people do NOT work for CCL........

some people will find fault with everything Carnival does......not sure why they cruise Carnival if they are determined to find fault......... but last week I was on Sun Pricess......the food was mediocre at best and at times in the Horizon Buffet it downright SUCKED.........and guess what I kept hearing!!!

Carnival brought out Princess so that must be why the food sucks.......

to those folks who want to blame CCL for everything that ever goes wrong on their cruise......STAY HOME
and let me have your spot....

Barb
 
D

dpetty121263

Guest
Nope the food was good, service was good, ports were great, CCL did a fine job with that part, just how they handled loading and unloading sucked, 3rd rate at best.
 
S

Snoozeman

Guest
Barb

A little harsh don't you think? I think his biggest problem was embarkation and debarkation. The Conquest debarkation does suck!!! I'll tell you how bad it was when I sailed Conquest in September. First they wanted to move sail away to 4:00 from 6:00 and called people to ask them to arrive earlier. We got there early and considered ourselves very lucky to only have to wait about three hours. Some people waited SIX hours and again longer on board. It was very obvious they weren't going to make 4:00 and they finally left after 6:00. The problem, they STILL had hundreds of people in line. They finally let those people on board WITHOUT thier security ID's complete, their sail & sign cards. So for 2-3 hours AFTER sailing people were still in line in the lobby & pursers desk. Now these people have no sail&sign card so they can not get a drink, go to a cabin, or anything. I bought some first time honeymooners two drinks of the day so they could at least have that while waiting in line. He said it was over 6 hours at that time & he had longer to go. By now it's getting close to dinner and of course those folks who have already missed the buffet don't have a clue as to their dinning room, etc. At this point I left the lobby bar as hungry people scare me, but I think they at least got everyone thier table assignments, but not all cards were even then complete because they passed on the photos in order to speed up the process of getting the cards out before dinner.

So now on Monday several hundred people have to line up in the lobby again to get their photos taken so that they will be able to leave & return to the ship. Well having witnessed the mess the day before, back to the lobby bar to see what happens now. They had two lines and two machines working, but one doesn't work all of a sudden and and know those in that line try to jump the other line which already had people waiting. Well that didn't go over well and I thought a riot was going to happen. Lots of shouting, etc. Peace was restored and I'm guessing it took another two hours.

I guess some people had to have been in line for 8+ hours overall. Do you think that is acceptable? Don't you think people have a right to complain?

I just hope CCL has been working on the problem as I'm giving them another shot on December 4th---again on the Conquest. I'd be happy with a only a 2-3 hour wait after what I witnessed.
 
S

Sweetpea29488

Guest
Just wondering why the Conquest has this kind of prob. ? All the Carnival ships I've been on have never had this prob. Is it because of where they sail out of? I've been on the Glory so I wouldn't think it would be the size of the ship since this is a sister ship to the Conquest.
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
Having sailed Carnival 6 times, I've never had any kind of problem that has been suggested here. I'm puzzled to say the least!
 
S

Snoozeman

Guest
Bottom line---CCL doesn't have enough employees for the Conquest embarkation in Galveston. I didn't have a big problem with Elation from there, so it has to be a Conquest problem. Too bad, it's a wonderful ship. I hope it stays in Galveston and CCL hires more trained staff to support her.
 
L

llp1958

Guest
I also said on the Conquest on the 23rd. I had an absolutely fantastic time.

Embarking: We were let on at 2:00. We waited about an hour.

Food: Fantastic!

Luggage Delivered before we sailed.

Steward: Fantastic!

Food Service: Our waiters Freddy and Dante absolutely the best we have ever had on any of my four cruises with Carnival.

The decor of the ship: I was so impressed!

The Cruise Director: Todd was great. He was not obnoxious in the least. The only Cruise director I found to NOT be obnoxious.

The deli (ruben sandwiches) was my favorite!

The reasons the shows were repeated or delayed was because the enterntainment that would have flown in could not do so due to Miami airport being closed. I felt the entertainment was really good and I was very pleased.

There were kids on the ship...........but you would never know it. Except the last day of the cruise in which they had a haunted house. Camp Carnival must have kept them pretty busy.

Debarking: A BAD ENDING! Hours to get off the boat. Our suitcases was all put in one corner of the warehouse, those who found their suitcases could not move to get out of the way of those looking. TERRIBLE!!! I felt fortunate to not be in a rush to catch an airplane. I am not sure whose fault it was....I think it was the port...... The port blamed carnival..........carnival blamed the port.

IT was the worse debarking I have ever encountered. But the cruise itself was the best ever!

Linda

Overall this was the absolute best cruise I had been on! We are now planning my fifth cruise with the Victory to the virgin islands in May 2006.
 
L

llp1958

Guest
We were also on the Conquest on the 23rd. We were very happy and pleased.

Food: Outstanding!
Deli: Loved the deli, especially the Rubens!
Waiters: Freddy and Dante were the best ever! I have always had great service but these two guys made our trip so enjoyable.
Steward: was great.
Decor: I loved the look of this ship. Very elegant without the gaudy colors of the fantasy and the fasination.

Embarking: we waited about 40 minutes and was on the ship by 2:15. No problem.
Luggage was delivered before we sailed.
Entertainment: Was very good. The guy singing in the piano bar was horrible. At least in my opinion..but he had a full table around him every night.
Cruise director: Todd was the best! Not obnoxious in the least.

Some of the shows were rescheduled due to Miami airport being closed and the entertainers not being able to fly out.

The captain was the most accessible captain on any of my four cruises. We saw him in jogging clothes on the top deck at night. We rode the elevator with him one time. He seemed to be very visible which I liked.

We knew before we sailed that there was not going to be a third port. The letter was given to us with a credit of 50 each. I guess for us, the vacation starts the moment we get on board.....and the ports are like whipped cream of the desert. This was by far the best cruise I had been on.

Debarking was BAAAAAAAAAD! Carnival blamed the port.......the port blamed carnival. People were getting testy and angy. It took way longer than it should have to get off the ship. And then when our color was called......all our luggage was against one wall...jammed together. Those who found their suitcases could not move to get to the customs lines..... those who were still looking for their suitcases could not move around the people who were stuck with their suitcases unable to move in any direction. Once we got through that mess (and I was getting upset) we waited in line maybe ten minutes and was through customs and out the door. I was very glad we did not have to make an flight.

Overall except for that glitch at the end.......It was the best cruise I have ever taken.

Linda in Ohio
 
L

lainie

Guest
I feel sorry for the folks who had such a bad time with debarkation, but as far as the port of call issue is concerned, all tickets/ contracts clearly state that changes to the itinerary are at their discretion, period. You have to know this going in to any cruise. And for goodness sake, the reason there was no Cozumel was because there was no Cozumel. I would be grateful that I was on a nice cruise vacation and not one of those poor people having to face the damage, power issues, losses and mess post hurricane. The cruise line will substitue another port if they can but understand there are all sorts of issues and procedures with that including being able to obtain clearance from the port to come there, plus fees have to be paid and manifests sent ahead of time to that port and I think there is a deadline that has to be met in order for the ship to stop anywhere. I wouldn't waste my time tryring to talk to the "management", I would have just gone with the flow and used my shipboard credit in the SPA.

Also -- in all the CCL cruises I have been on (7), we have always had excellent service. We have not experienced staff not saying hello in the halls and each and every cabin steward / dining room waiter, bartender, SPA worker has gone above and beyond to make us feel welcome and well cared for.

Maybe it is all a matter of expectation and perception....

Sensation '00
Elation '01
Victory '02
Spirit '03
Legend '04
Glory '04
Conquest '05
 
D

dpetty121263

Guest
I had no problems with the service onboard, I just felt the management was lacking alot, seemed like Romper room rejects running the port and ship least during this time but I had a good time overall. As far as the boarding and debarkation went it was near riot conditions on 10/21 and 10/30, I helped some poor elderly lady up from falling due to her being accidently pushed while getting her bags. It was truely crazy!!
 
E

Einstein

Guest
Most of US have experienced a Creuise nitemare or two but that ONLY means that the next one will be that much BETTER. My cruise nitemare was MNY years ago with Carnival but I have since tried them again a couple of times with VERY good experiences. Do NOT let this one nitemare cruise detour U from giving them a try again sometime in the future as I would dare bet your experience WILL be MUCH different. Perhaps U should give other lines a try but don't close the door on Carnival forever. Enjoy that NEXT venture at Sea. :thumb

.
 
Top